Commissioners

Keith Hall

January 2008–January 2012

Appointed by: George W. BushAlso served under: Barack Obama

Dr. Keith Hall received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Virginia and M.S. and Ph.D. in Economics from Purdue University. Prior to his government service, Dr. Hall was a full time-faculty member in the economics departments at the Universities of Arkansas and Missouri. He published a number of papers on international trade.

Dr. Hall had over 20 years of federal service with the Department of the Treasury, the International Trade Commission, the Department of Commerce, the Executive Office of the President, and BLS. Prior to becoming BLS Commissioner, he served as Chief Economist for the White House Council of Economic Advisers, where he analyzed a broad range of fiscal, regulatory and macroeconomic policies and directed a team that monitored the state of the economy and developed economic forecasts.

He served as the Chief Economist for the U.S. Department of Commerce for four years. In that role, he was the principal economic adviser to the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs and served as a special adviser to the Secretary of Commerce. Dr. Hall previously served as a Senior International Economist in the Research Division at the U.S. International Trade Commission, an independent agency that investigates any matter involving tariffs, international trade, and competition between U.S. and foreign industries.

In 2007, President George W. Bush nominated Dr. Hall to be the 13th Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. He was confirmed by the Senate in December 2007 and officially sworn in to office in January 2008. One of Dr. Hall's top priorities was the completion of the effort to modernize the BLS pricing programs. BLS now continuously updates all of the components of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rather than updating once a decade with each decennial census. Under his leadership, the Bureau began redesigning the Consumer Expenditure Survey that is used to select the market basket of goods used in the CPI. In addition, Dr. Hall oversaw the successful completion of a major information technology investment project to modernize the Producer Price Index Program.

Another priority of Dr. Hall was improving data analysis and dissemination at the Bureau. During his tenure the Bureau redesigned its website; redesigned the data releases; implemented a Customer Information System to track the types of questions our users are asking; developed a detailed Strategic Plan with specific outreach goals; and developed a detailed plan for using social media.

During his term, Dr. Hall oversaw the preparation and celebration of the 125th Anniversary of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.